The Remnant Reaper
by CJS-117
Summary: Jaune couldn't believe making friends with a bird would lead him to possess the power of one the most ancient and feared legends Remnant had to offer... really, how was he supposed to know that one of his ancient ancestors could turn into an 8-foot-tall ghost with a scythe?
1. Act l

_Prologue..._

 _The sun rose, partially obscured by soft gray clouds on a quiet, peaceful morning, over a quaint little village bordering Mistral. Nestled in one of the bigger forests, it was the kind of place where the elderly could kick back and relax, and where the children could frolick and play. The kind of place one would expect to lead a perfectly average existence..._

 _...But sometimes, places like this are where heroes are born... and legends resurface..._

~o~0~o~

In the forests around his home, Jaune Arc, age 12, wandered through the trees. He took to wandering like this a while ago, after his eighteenth attempt at getting his parents to train him. Rayden Arc and Asia Arc were Huntsmen of incredible renown, their Grimm kill counts averaging in the thousands, as well as siring seven of the most prestigious Huntress prodigies of the new generation. As the next male heir to the ancient and legendary Arc name, who wouldn't want to become one of those great legends?

The answer was painfully simple to Jaune... he couldn't. No matter how much he tried, it didn't seem to possess any of the natural talent the rest of his family showcased. His clumsiness became a sort of running gag between the other village kids. It didn't help that he failed the entrance exam to Foundation Academy three years ago. His parents had elected not to train him after that.

He'd tried to use the family sword, Crocea Mors, for training on his own, but it always ended in failure; he dropped it when he tried to swing it, and repeatedly lodged it in the trees he used for target practice. The mech-shift sheath/kite shield wasn't much better. He had once coerced one of his older sisters into having a spar with him in the backyard training field last year.

The fight had ended seconds after it began when he performed a solid face-plant after he practically pole-vaulted over the shield when he somehow managed to jam it into the ground, while simultaneously tripping over it. His father had forbade him from sparring again when he came away with a mild concussion.

 _Mom and Dad and my sisters are all super awesome heroes, and I can barely swing a sword straight. I'm honestly starting to wonder if I'll ever be a hero like them at al--_

he was broken from his thoughts of self-pity when he heard the unmistakable _caw!_ of a crow. Jaune's brow furrowed in concern.

Now if Jaune prided himself on anything, it was his abnormal abilities of perception and his amazingly quick and talented tactical mind. His family was constantly amazed by his penchant for creative thinking and observation, and his younger sisters kept asking him to make or fix things for them. Sometimes his older sisters would even ask him to help them solve problems. Thus it was relatively easy for Jaune to recognize the birdcall as a call of distress.

Jaune's head snapped in the direction the call had come from when he heard it again.

"Huh, and pretty close, too..."

 _Well, I've got nothing better to do, and , heroes help people in need, right?_

~o~0~o~

Walking to where he'd heard the call, he found a decently large crow, covered in dust, standing in the shade of a tree, next to a broken branch. One of the bird's wings was hanging limply to the ground. looking at the tree, Jaune saw that one of the low-hanging branches had been torn away, leaving a small, jagged stump.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what went wrong.

"Ouch...that looks like a nasty hit you took."

Jaune sqatted down and reached for the bird. He half-expected it to try and run away when it shied away from his hand, but it let him pick it up without any trouble, aside from its croaks of discomfort. Jaune gently swept a bit of dust off the avian's tail feathers.

"I guess I'll call you...Dusty!"

The crow looking at him and croaked in response.

Little did Jaune know that his relationship with the bird in his arms would help him unlock an incredible power, inherited from ancient times, from the first Arc legend...

...the legend of the Grim Reaper...

~o0o~

(A/N): it's a bit obscure, but I wonder if anyone can guess the inspiration? Also first fanfic, reviews and advice would be appreciated.


	2. First Kill, Kinda?

_Survival is the barest instinct of life. It can unlock hidden power the likes of which none have ever seen, all for the sake of staying alive..._

 _~o~0~o~_

Jaune had just situated Dusty in the crook of the his arm and started on his way home when he heard it. A blaring electronic siren coming from the direction of the village. Jaune's heart constricted with fear. He immediately began to run as fast as he could manage without jostling the injured avian clucking with pain in his arms.

Jaune's village was rural by design, being situated in Mistral, so it wasn't exactly a paragon of modern technology. This didn't stop it from posessing modern commodities, like scrolls and household appliances... and weapons. This technology included a town-wide warning siren to warn the locals into the safety of the village borders in case the area was reported to contain sightings of the creatures of Grimm.

The fact that the siren was even used was what had Jaune concerned. As well as being home to several retired Huntsmen and Huntresses, along with aspiring Huntsmen-in-training currently on school break, the village militia itself had a decent general armory, so most small Grimm that wandered too close were easily dealt with...

...But that meant the only reason the siren was ever used was if Mistral proper issued a warning that a particularly powerful Grimm had been seen in the area. One that required _at_ _least_ a 5th tier Huntsman to deal with it.

The only resident Huntsmen above tier 7 were Jaune parents, and they were on a mission in Vale, which was a continent over.

O _h crap oh crap oh crap oh crap..._

Fear pushed him to move faster. His lungs were burning from exertion, but he knew he had to make it back to the village... before the Grimm found him first. As he hurried toward the village, Jaune failed to notice the subtle, ghostly green glow that began to surround his companion... or the ethereal purple mist that began to faintly waft from _him_...

~o~0~o~

The creature was hungry. The trees around its den had run out of sap days ago, and so it was forced to wander out and find more. Today though, it had felt the subtle, yet so very tantalizing, reek of negative emotion that was shared by all members of the creature's favorite species of prey. However, it seemed that a rather large pack of Beowolves had the same idea.

Well, too bad! It had smelled them first!

The creature been steadily approaching this appealing prize when it suddenly picked up a new scent, one of the creature's personal favorites. Fear. Licking it's chops, the creature trundled off in search of this new prey...

~o~0~o~

Jaune continued to stumble and struggle to the undergrowth in his haste to get to the village. The forest had gone unnervingly quiet a few minutes ago, which was doing absolutely nothing to calm his heart from trying to escape his chest. It didn't help that Dusty kept making noises of discomfort whenever Jaune's arm shifted too much. After a particularly loud squawk, Jaune had finally had enough.

"Would you shut up?! I don't know if you've got death wish or something, but you're gonna get us both killed!"

Hissing desperately through his teeth, Jaune glared at the avian tucked in the crook of his arm. Beak still partially open, Dusty stared back. Jaune strode among the trees, staring the bird down. Dusty's beak abruptly clicked shut. Jaune stumbled over another root, but this time all he heard was a muffled croak through the now tightly shut beak.

 _He listened to me... huh, maybe he's been around humans before and picked up a thing or-- wait a minute._

 _Is he glowing??_

Now confused as well as terrified, Jaune pushed himself between a pair of trees, still staring at Dusty, who stared rright back at him. Only this time he was enveloped in a ghostly green light, like one of those plastic glowing sticks that were at the seasonal festival last month. Except the light didn't seem to illuminate anything else. He was starting to think this wasn't a normal bird.

"What _are_ you...?"

Suddenly, Jaune heard a twig snap somewhere in front of him. Startled, he snapped his head towards the sound... and froze.

Almost everyone and their pet knew of the creatures of Grimm, and being from a Huntsman family Jaune was no exception. They were monsters born from darkness and vicious beyond all reason. Until now, Jaune had only ever seen photos of the creatures. He had never seen a Grimm in person.

Now he was staring at the back of one just several feet away.

The beast was massive, enormous paws and thick, stumpy back legs attached to an utter hulk of rippling muscle. It was covered in pitch black fur from which an equally black fog seemed to evaporate. Along its back and front paws white, boney protrusions burst forth, augmenting the Grimm's already nightmarish appearance.

To say Jaune was frightened would be an understatement. He was downright _terrified._ Here he was, standing just a few meters away from a natural-born _killing machine._ He was sure that this monster would be the last thing he would see in this life.

Then his analytical, observant mind, bless its kind and generous soul, noticed one detail that could potentially save his life.

 _It hasn't noticed me yet._

The thought didn't get rid of his fear, but it did help him regain just enough of a hold on his sanity to creep sideways to his left, exiting the clearing as quietly as he could. Jaune kept going until he was sure he couldn't hear the snuffling and rustling of the monster he had just left behind. He released a shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding until now.

"Holy _crap_ , I thought I was gonna die..."

Dusty nipped his hand.

"Ow-- hey! What was that for?"

Dusty leveled a stare that seemed to say _"you're an idiot."_

"Don't look at me like that! What did you want anyw--"

He looked up just in time to stop himself from striding face-first into a tree. Jaune blinked, then looked back down at the bird.

"Uh... thanks, I guess. Wow, you're pretty smart for a bird."

~o~0~o~

Rounding the tree, Jaune came upon a very familiar and calming setting. He was standing at edge of the treeline over looking a large lake. Overhead, the light of dusk turned the sky orange. Off to the far right, the lights of the Dust lanterns illuminated the small village fishing wharf and boat dock. Jaune heaved a sigh of relief.

" _Whew,_ looks like I'm living another day!"

Dusty chirped in happy aggreement. Honestly, Jaune was tired, emotionally spent, and a little hungry. He couldn't _wait_ to get home. He began trekking along the beach of the lake toward home.

"Great! Now all I gotta do is head home, get you patched up, and leave this whole nightmare behind m--"

For the third time that evening, Jaune's train of thought was interrupted, this time by a piercing howl. Jaune groaned in exasperation.

"Spoke too soon..."

Jaune tiredly turned to the left to inspect his newest aggressor. The creature seemed to resemble a wolf, with reverse-jointed hind legs and a lupine snout and ears. Its disproportionately large front paws sported long, sharp claws that were segmented to allow for gripping and, oddly enough, each paw had a single appendage grown in the opposite direction to act as apposable thumbs. As with the other Grimm he'd seen the forest, this one had the bone-like growths protruding from its back and arms.

Jaune had seen photos of the wolf creatures before, but this one looked different. It was almost twice as bulky as the ones in the pictures, and its finger segments were serrated. The most terrifying part of the beast was its jaws. As the creature opened its mouth to lick its chops, Jaune caught a glimpse of several short strips of bone place seemingly at random underneath the tougue. He watched, still rooted to the spot, as the writhing muscle disappeared down its gullet, leaving room for the weird bone strips to unfurl into pointy spines of marrow from the creature's jaw. Jaune also noted the tips of what appeared to be several more spines hanging from the roof of the beast's mouth.

 _Extra teeth._

 _To make sure it doesn't miss anything important._

Jaune, already emotionally exhausted from laying eyes on the first Grimm, and physically burned out from all the running before, couldn't help but feel somewhat numb to the sight.

 _My luck_ CANNOT _get any worse._

As if on cue, the monster let out a low, resounding bark as began to lope across the lakeside straight at Jaune.

 _...Aaaand it just got worse._

Jaune turned and bolted, sprinting as hard as he could without dropping Dusty, pumping his legs as fast as they would go.

The Grimm was faster.

Jaune looked over his shoulder to gauge the beast's distance from him. He saw nothing. Frantic, he looked the other way just as it leaped sideways, claws outstretched.

Jaune was exhausted. He couldn't dodge it, nor would he have been able to. Dusty sqawked in terror.

Jaune then performed possibly the most heroic, or foolish, act of his young life. He turned his back and curled his arms defesively around Dusty.

Utter agony burst from his left shoulder as it shattered from the strike, the sharp points on the back of the paw gouging through his left pectoral. He was thrown off his feet, losing his hold on Dusty, and landed at the edge of the lake. His shirt growing wet with blood, Jaune managed to rise to his knees before before the monster struck for the final time.

As the jaws closed over his left shoulder, one outer fang slicing his throat and the extras mutilating the already mangled area, Jaune had one last, desperate thought.

 _I don't wanna die here!_

The world went black.

 _wovoosh-KABOOM!_

The purple haze faintly wafting from his body suddenly bust forth in an explosion of purple light and power.

The monster died on the spot, the explosion hurling it away to land in a heap. Jaune flopped bonelessly to the dirt at the edge of the water. Silence reigned as the sun set and the moon rose over Mistral.

~o~0~o~

Far away, in a dark, evil place, an embodiment of darkness lounged on a throne, smirking. The newest of her creations had been sent out to hunt, and reports of its ferocity soon would follow.

As if on cue, the door opened and a softly glowing bulb with teeth and tendrils hanging underneath floated in.

"What news of the prototype?"

No one answered, but the figure's brow furrowed, then then her eyes widened slightly as her smirk faded.

"Destroyed? How?"

No response.

The figure leaned back in her seat, narrowing her eyes and pinching her chin.

"It seems an unknown power is now in play..."

~o~0~o~

In his office atop a giant clocktower, a white-haired, middle-aged man sipped his coffee before standing and walking to his window, watching the Vale sunrise as he leaned on his cane.

"... A new piece has been set on the board..."

He took another sip with a small smile.

"... This should be interesting."

 **~o0o~**

( **A/N** ): Admittedly, there's less "Reaper" in this chapter than I would have liked, but it was either this or double the chapter. It worked out, though, 'cause now I can dedicate a full chapter to the final exposition.

Next Time...

Jaune's power finally emerges, but for what purpose does it exist? Two figures from the ancient past appear to explain and pass on a secret Arc legacy, but what do they mean when they say his link with Dusty isn't supposed to exist? Dusty can... _talk_?!

Once the night is over, boy and bird may be left with more questions than answers...


	3. Legacy of the Reaper

**Speech Patterns:** "normal speech"

 _normal thought_ / _sound effect_ / _emphasis_

 _"thought-speak/past statements"_

 ** _e_** ** _mphasis_**

" **reaper form** **speech** "

" _SHOUTING"_

 **~o0o~**

 _Communication is tantamount to any form of unity. It has the power to forge friendships with others and strengthen those that already exist. With it, one can bond with anyone... even if such a bond shouldn't exist.._.

 _~o~0~o~_

Dusty had come to understand a lot in the past two hours. First he recognized the blond human's wish to help him with his broken wing. Later, he had seen the logic in his savior wanting silence so as not to attract any dangerous predators. He even knew enough to stop him before he ran into a tree.

And so it was that Dusty felt horrified when he saw boney spikes burst from the boy's chest as he was hurled from the his grasp. He hit the dirt and lay there, stunned. Groggily, he manage to make out the heavily blurred image of his companion get _chomped_ , then a blast of purple light before the world went black.

~o~0~o~

 _Uuugh... where am I...?_

"You are lying at the edge of a lake, young one. Unfortunately, you do not have much more time for respite, I'm afraid."

" _Wuh... w-whose there..."_

If Dusty was being honest, he didn't really want to move. His body was sore and his wings felt like lead, the broken one throbbing with pain.

 _Wait... what's lead?_

"...Oh, holy spirits above-- _WAKE UP!"_

Dusty's eyes flew open in fright. He shot upright with a squawk before the pain made him stagger, frantically looking around him for speaker. His gaze landed instead on two forms sprawled on the shoreline. It was the boy and the monster that had attacked them. Both lay unmoving in the dirt.

As if a switch was flipped, information suddenly surged into his mind. A level of understanding not his own entered his mental being, forcing it to evolve. A list of observations were immediately compiled.

He was a bird.

His given name was Dusty, bestowed on him by his savior and friend.

He had a human friend.

He had broken his wing colliding with a tree branch.

His human friend had saved him.

His friend's name was Jaune... how did he know that?

Jaune had protected him from a monster.

And lastly, the scene before him suggested Jaune was most likely dead.

"..A _nd he's dead because he tried to help me...! If I hadn't called for help things wouldn't have ended up this way--!"_

"Oh, would you quit your moaning already? The boy's not dead, not yet."

Dusty turned toward the lake and was met with... with... okay, he didn't know exactly _what_ he expected, but it wasn't this.

Before him, standing in _midair_ above the shallows of the lake, was was a short humanoid figure with gaunt features and deathly pale skin. Lightly clasped in front of of him were two pale, thin, boney hands, the wrists of which sported metal shackles several sizes too wide and etched with glowing blue runes. Chains were attached to the large rings, looping around to the back of his form. Two more chains looped up in front, connecting to another, smaller ring hanging from a another chain off his neck like a pendant. A large book, clasped with a golden spine and a flat emerald gem on the cover, hung on his left side, and a ball flask hung from his right. A large lantern was slung behind his back. The figure's black robe was frayed at the bottom, with a red sash off to the side. A dull yellow scarf was draped over his shoulders, the tails hanging in front of him. Underneath the scarf, the figure wore a thick collar that seemed to be entirely made of feathers.

... Dusty was a little creeped out by that last one.

"Well? Are you going to ask the question so obviously on your mind? Or just stand there like you've seen a ghost?"

The figure spoke in soft, gravelly, and slightly raspy voice which only added even more to his mystical profile.

Not knowing what else to do, Dusty asked his question.

" _...Who are you, what are you, how can you hear what I'm saying, what's happening, what just happened, how is Jaune not dead, what are you doing here, am **I** dead, is this a dream?"_

The robed figure let out a low chuckle.

"Patience, young one. I will answer all your questions when the Successor awakens. If, however, you wish to know how your partner is alive, simply observe what's happening to your wing."

Mentally raising a brow, Dusty looked down at his limp, broken wing, which was further mangled from his unplanned crash-landing on the shoreline. He tried to lift it, only to drop it back down as pain lanced through the appendage. He leveled a glare of indignation at the ghostly figure.

" _Well aside from being completely wrecked, I don't see anything different about the wing, sorry. Remind me why this means my friend-- sorry, **partner** , you called him partner, whatever that means. What does my broken wing have to do with his survival? Far as I know, most people don't just walk that.. off..."_

Dusty trailed of as pins and needles began to work their way along his wing. He looked down to find a faint film of pale green energy coating his feathers. Looking at his other wing, he found the same thing. He craned his neck over his shoulder, mystified, to be treated to the sight of the light coating his back and tail.

 _crick!_

Dusty's wing let out a quiet, but sharp, cracking sound. He snapped his head to look back it.

 _crick! crick! crack!_

Several more cracks sounded in quick succession. The sounds stopped and the pins and needles quickly faded. Dusty raised it experimentally and found he could move it as if it was never broken. Suddenly filled with jubilation, Dusty spread his wings and soared into the air, spinning and somersaulting in celebration. He tucked his wings and dived, pulling up and landing next to Jaune's body. He looked back at floating figure.

" _... And you said the same thing is happening to Jaune?"_

The figure nodded.

"Quite so, though the severity of his injuries added more time to the process."

 _wovoosh!_

The same misty purple energy that Dusty had seen in the explosion began to curl off of Jaune's prone form.

"Alas, he requires more time. Time he does not possess."

"... _W_ _hat do you mean_?"

 ** _HOOOOOWWWWL!_**

Oh no.

Oh that did not sound good.

~o~0~o~

Dusty turned toward the treeline and was met with the sight of another wolf creature. Thankfully, this one didn't seem to have extra teeth or serrated claws, but it didn't look any less deadly. As if answering the howl, several more emerged from the undergrowth.

Dusty didn't know what to do. He could fly away and escape, but that left Jaune to deal with them, and he was pretty sure that coma patients couldn't exactly defend themselves.

The figure over the water made his decision for him.

"I sense your inner strife, but the decision is not as difficult as you might think. It seems you now face your first trial as Guardian. It is up to you to defend the Successor."

Dusty stared open-beaked at the strange being incredulously.

" _Wait, wait, wait, you're saying you want me to **fight** those things?!_ _l'm a **bird.** I could sit in their mouths with room to spare!"_

"It may seem impossible to ** _you_** , but I assure you that you possess the power to defeat them." Simply commit yourself to attacking with the intent to kill."

Dusty looked back at the monsters uncertaintly. Honestly, the fact that he was even considering engaging in combat against these things should have told him he was insane. On the other hand, if the wierd ghost out on the lake was to be believed, he was the only thing standing between Jaune and a gruesome death.

His decision was apparently made for him, when one of the creatures let out a sudden growl and broke from the treeline, galloping forward.

" _...So just commit to the attack, right?"_

"Yes."

" _...Welp, here goes everything..."_

Dusty pushed off the ground, flapped into the air, and dived at the beast, aiming his beak at itseft eye. He mentally planned to dig his beak into the organ, then find purchase with his talons to rip it out. At the most it would provide a distraction and buy Jaune a little more time to recover. He made himself as aerodynamic as possible and tried to commit as much focus on his chosen target as he could.

Instead of lodging his beak in the eye as he planned, the faint halo of energy coating his body suddenly flared until his feathers looked pale green instead of black, and he shot onwards as if from a cannon, trailing green light.

Unprepared for the sudden speed boost, Dusty had no time to find purchase. He impacted beak-first into the monster's head...

...and kept on going, plowing right through the creature's skull to hit the ground behind it.

Shocked and confused, Dusty struggled to his feet and gawked at the sight before him. The impact had pushed the beast onto its hind legs, the front paws dangling limp at either side, and half of its head was torn away. The monster staggered two more steps before slumping forward to the dirt with a heavy _thump,_ dead.

 _... I did that._

Dusty's shock gave way to bewilderment.

... _wait, how **did** I do that?_

He lost the luxury of wondering when another monster came up behind him and pinned him beneath one large paw. As the beast leaned down to bite off his head, Dusty shut his eyes tight and imagined being anywhere else. The image of Jaune's prone form flashed across his mind.

Just as the lupine jaws snapped closed over his head, Dusty disappeared in a puff of green smoke and ethereal green feathers, reappearing in the same manner draped over Jaune's back in the exact same moment.

Dusty slowly stood up and stared uncomprehendingly at the back of Jaune's head, then numbly looked over his shoulder to the wolf creature, who looked around in confusion before refocusing on him.

"Do you understand now? You no doubt have many questions, but rest assured all will be revealed once the Successor awakens. For now, however, you must fight."

Dusty just stared blankly at the floating stranger.

 _"...You have a **ton** of explaining to do after this, old man._"

With that, Dusty soared into the air as the rest of the pack finally lost patience and charged. He took aim at the nearest monster, spun into a dive, and got to work. the lakeside was soon alive with streaks of green light, howling, and falling bodies.

When it was over, Dusty was standing on the final wolf's corpse, taking ragged breaths. All around him, the shoreline was littered with more dead bodies, either missing parts of their faces or sporting gaping holes in their chests.

"Well done, young one. You have proven youself to be very impressive indeed. Ah, and it seems your patience has been rewarded. He awakens."

Dusty looked back at Jaune, who was still exuding that purple smoke. More smoke began to pour from the Arc's body, nearly obscuring him from view. Then, another explosion of smoke spread from his prone form, forcing Dusty to tuck his head behind his wing in defense.

 _wovoosh!_

When Dusty looked back, Jaune was gone. Lying in his place was... _something_ completely different. Concerned, Dusty flapped over to inspect the new "arrival"

" _What's going on, what happened to him?!_

The stranger smiled.

"Do not fear, young one. I assure you that you are indeed gazing upon your partner. Alas, it seems that you must use your mental link to call him to the waking world."

Not knowing what else to do in this situation, Dusty hesitantly did as he was told.

" _Jaune?"_

No response. He tried again.

" _Jaune..._ "

~o~0~o~

" _Jaune..._ "

" _Jaune..._ "

" _JAUNE_!"

Jaune jolted awake at the sound of the voice. He raised his head, just managing to make out the murky form of Dusty standing next to him, then began looking around for the speaker.

" _Jaune, I'm right_ _here_."

Jaune looked in direction he heard the voice and immediately did a double-take.

His avian friend had just spoken to him.

...Though after everything he had been through that night, he was too emotionally burned out to care all that much. Then he looked across the lake and felt his jaw drop at the sight of an old man wearing a collar of feathers _floating_ above the water. The elder man offered a friendly smile. The elder's voice

"Ah, you have awakened. Greetings, Successor."

" **Wuh... what's going on...?"**

Maybe it was because he was still feeling lightheaded, but his voice sounded different. It was much lower and sounded a slight bit wispy. Weird...

Then he looked up at the shattered moon in the sky and the events of that evening surged back into memory like water from a bursting dam. The sheer amount of feedback made his already blurred vision swim with dizziness. Gradually, his mind stopped spinning and his head stopped throbbing just enough for him to see the edge of the water.

 _Maybe some cold water would help..._

He rose unsteadily, wobbling a little before righting himself. It honestly felt like his legs were missing and he was floating. Weird.

He managed to make his way across the beach to the edge of the lake, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it across his face. The ice-cold liquid worked like a charm, burning away the fog around his mind.

Deciding to check the wound he had acquired a few hours ago, according to the presence of the moon, he looked back at the water. If he was alive and he felt fine, maybe the wound wasn't all that bad--

...okay, what was **_that?!_**

Jaune stared dumbly at the reflection of the _... creature_ that looked back at him.

The figure wore a tattered purple shawl that draped over his shoulders, strips of cloth hanging over his back down to the waist. The garment opened at the front to expose a bare, skeletal ribcage. A hood shrouded his face in shadows, as if darkness had wrapped around his head to hide it from view. The hood was narrow in profile, each side stiffly framing the space where his face would be. The space continued downwards, framing his chest as well.

The figure's arms were skeletal as well, long, large boney limbs with pointed, boney fingers hanging to either side of the body. The left forearm was wrapped with several loops of purple cloth spaced evenly along the appendage, the last one just before the elbow. Around the wrist was a light bronze shackle, with a short broken chain hanging parallel to his pinkie. The hand was wrapped in purple cloth that ended at the knuckles, leaving the fingers and thumb bare.

The right hand was larger than the left, wrapped in a sleeve of cloth that ended halfway up the arm before transitioning to more loops of cloth, again ending before the elbow. A panel of dark, elaborately etched metal lined with light bronze sat on the outside of the arm, starting at the wrist and ending before the elbow. Another broken chain hung next to the pinkie.

The navel of the strange reflection was covered by an oval of dark metal carved in the likeness of a sorrowful face, lined with light bronze. Dark bronze lined with light bronze guarded his sides and back.

Hanging by chains from his sides were two large, identical books, which were chained shut. Two more items hung by chains on his front, one from each of the face's cheeks. The left-hand item looked like a squared off cylinder capsule full of green energy. the other item was a stilted hourglass full of the same green energy.

a circular curtain of purple cloth draped down, completely obscuring the would-be legs, and completed the body.

On the left shoulder sat a pauldron with three long spikes jutting out of the metal. Skewered on the middle spike were two _human skulls, _with a larger third one on the last spike from the front.

...Jaune decided he didn't want to know who the original owners were.

Attached to his back were two massive skeletal wings. Between the segments was uneven webbing of black ooze.

Jaune looked down and found the final nail in the coffin. His feet didn't _feel_ like they were missing. They _were_ missing. He was actually floating a few inches off the ground.

" _Alright, old man. You said that you would explain everything when Jaune woke up. Well, he's awake now, so start_ _talking!_ "

Jaune was jolted from his stupor when Dusty finally lost patience and spoke up. He looked back at the floating elder.

" _Well?_ "

"Calm yourself, young one. As promised, all will be revealed now."

Another being suddenly materialized next to the feathered elder. The new arrival was barechested and pale as a corpse, with a sunken stomach and skin that seemed to be stretched thin across his body.

The man wore a plate of dull blue armor lined with dull gray on each side of his waist. Underneath he wore tight-fitting pants, with two metal panels belted on the outside of his thighs. He wore greaves that were wrapped in tan cloth that draped over his shoes, held down by criss-crossing belts. Metal panels guarded his knees. Underneath the cloth, the man wore a pair of heeled riding boots.

On his arms, the man wore fingerless gloves made of beige wrapping that covered most of the forearm. On his left forearm was a loose, cuffed sleeve with a metal panel stitched on it for extra defense. An odd symbol seemed to be carved into the man's left shoulder.

Smooth, jet-black hair cascaded down to the man's shoulders. A bone mask sat on top of his face, the lower part simply a flat slab and the upper part carved with the visage of a scowl. Ominous pools of orange stared through the eye openings.

At this point, Jaune just accepted the srange situation. It was too much to take in at once. He'd sort it all out later.

" **So who are you**?" he asked the masked individual.

When the pale man spoke, his voice was low and groaning.

"I am the byproduct of an ancient battle between two godly forces and the precursor to the Arc bloodline. I am Ryder Arc."

Jaune's invisible jaw dropped.

" **Wait, so you're like, the _first_ Arc? The _ very _first Arc?**"

"You... could say that."

The feathered old man cut in.

"Ryder, I believe we have given the boy enough surprises for one night. It is time to pass on the Legacy of the Four."

Dusty chimed in.

 _"Legacy? what legacy? You still haven't explained how or why this is happening to me and Jaune."_

" **Uh... yeah, what he said...** "

Ryder turned to the feathered elder.

"Yes, I believe we have stretched their patience far enough, Crowfather."

The now named Crowfather nodded, then turned to address the still mentally ragged pair.

Indeed. Listen well, young ones. The tale I am about to tell you is one of the most important Secrets I have ever known to exist on this world. To understand your task, you must first understand what it means... to carry the Legacy of the Four...

~o~0~o~

 _There can be no Life without Balance. Chaos and Serenity in a constant struggle that shapes the very fabric of all that is considered alive. Such was the decree of Oum, the Creator, when he shaped the world you know as Remnant. But Oum could not continue to monitor this world alone. He had to move on, create new worlds. So he used his powers of Creation to conceive one who could watch over the world of Remnant in his stead. She came be known as Nature._

 _In order to ensure all Life on Remnant remained in proper Balance, Nature created a system called the Circle of Life. Dead souls and formless magic would pass through the Circle, either to be reborn anew or be dispersed, becoming inanimate natural resources for the living to consume for sustenance._

 _Under the Circle of Life, Life thrived and expanded, eventually evolving to create a people quite similar to humans of today. Their connection to Nature's magic was so strong, it caused them to retain traits from other wild beings. They are now known... as the Faunus._

 _But Existence requires Balance to continue, and so for every force, there is another to oppose it. Life... is no exception. And so, when Life took root on Remnant, another force rose to oppose it. one bent on banishing all Life into Nothingness. Even I do not know who first bestowed the title, but nonetheless, the evil force came to be known..._

 _...as Corruption._

 _For countless eons, Corruption tried all it could to extinguish Life from existence, starting with the Faunus. But the Faunus people's connection to Life was too stong to be tampered with, and thus very few ever fell to Darkness. Those that did were either freed from Corruption's control... or ended, to be cleansed by the Circle of Life._

 _But Corruption was persistent, relentless. After eons, it finally found a solution. It would end Life on Remnant with the very system that governed it._

 _So it was that Corruption stole a sliver of power from the Circle of Life, and with that power created a new people, born Corrupted. They were known... as the First Humanity._

 _The First Humanity were monsters, evil beings who lived only for destruction. They put the Faunus people to the sword, and burned their memory to ash. Once the grevious deed was done, the First Humanity began to lay waste to all Life on Remnant. With the Faunus gone, it seemed Corruption would succeed._

 _But four amongst them were able to cast away the shackles of Corruption, and embrace their true nature, as beings of Life. They grew weary of the senseless slaughter, and realized their conquest would imperil the Balance._

 _And so they convened with Nature, pledging themselves to her service. As a token of her immense gratitude, she bestowed upon them incredible power, And charged them with safeguarding the Four Woes of Life: Famine, Strife, War, and Death. These four concepts governed the chaos of Life, opposing Serenity and maintaining Balance. They became the Four Harbingers._

 _The Four wanted to demonstrate their conviction, and so they decided that their first task..._

 _...would be to purge their own brethren from Creation. To annihilate Humanity... and reclaim their souls..._

 _The last battle was waged on the island now known as Vytal. The first of Humanity, Absalom, fought Ryder Arc in a battle for Existence itself. Finally, Ryder emerged victorious._

 _But as Absalom lay dying, he reached out his hand. Ryder clasped it in sorrow, hoping the gesture would provide him peace. in that moment, Ryder's anguish fed the weakened Corruption the strength it desperately needed. Enough to retrieve Absalom, and unleash the instruments of its final attack._

 _The Deadly Sins. Monsters born from madness_ , _roaming the land rending Serenity asunder._

 _The Chosen. Creatures born of the fires of devastation, laying waste to all they came across, and ruling over the ashes._

 _The Horde. Twisted imitations of the wildlife that roamed the world, swarming and smothering all in their path with single-minded ferocity._

 _These three forces came to be known..._

 _as the Grimm._

 _Absalom him self became the first Avatar of Chaos, the direct conduit through which Corruption professed its will. Absalom then placed the final nail in the coffin..._

 _... he Corrupted me, Nature's Keeper of Secrets._

 _Under the influence of Corruption, I fled with the souls of Humanity. Ryder was forced to hunt and kill me in order to retrieve the souls, and vowed revenge._

 _Thus the Four set forth, to cull the Grimm and end Absalom. Ryder tracked the Avatar to Vytal, and again engaged him in battle. Again he emerged victorious._

 _But this time, Ryder did not show mercy. When Absalom reached out once more, he gave no quarter, and struck the final blow._

 _But Serenity had been damaged too thoroughly be rekindled by Absalom's death. It required a much bigger spark. It needed the Faunus._

 _So Ryder sacrificed the souls of Humanity to the task, using his own soul as a catalyst. Serenity was rekindled, the seeds of the Faunus people resown. And so ended the Reaper_.

 _But Humanity was not erased._

 _The Four had shown Nature the virtues that Humanity could offer to Life. As a token of her gratitude for their sacrifice, she revived the human people as newborn, free of Corruption._

 _Yet they still could not connect to the force of Life, to protect them from Corruption. To rectify this, Nature pooled her power to create a mineral composed of energy directly channeled from the Circle of Life, begetting the mineral known now as Dust. And so Faunus and the renewed Humanity have coexisted to this day._

 _But Nature also saw the virtues of having the Harbingers stand ready in the event another Avatar was chosen. To accomplish this, she dispersed the souls of the original Four into four bloodlines, to be called upon when the time was right._

~o~0~o~

Crowfather fell silent, leaving Jaune and Dusty to stare at him in astonishment.

" **Whoa...** "

" _That's heavy..._ "

A simple walk in the woods had gone from a peaceful pastime to the strangest amd most terrifying night of Jaune's life, and now he was a giant ghost, floating next to a talking bird, in front of two _more_ ghosts who had apparently just told him the origin of all life.

Was it so wrong to have just a _few_ questions?

" **So... I still don't know what all this has to do with _me_. You guys won, right? What's the point in telling me this if it doesn't mean anything now?**"

" _Yeah, I still need to know where **I** fit into all this, too._"

Dusty was still trying to grasp the fact that he could _teleport_ and had super-strength. Crowfather adopted a grave expression.

"Unfortunately, it does concern you. As I said, Corruption is tireless. For centuries, it has dripped venom into Humanity's ears, attempting to Corrupt them again. This effort culminated in the conflict you know as the Great War. The unrest caused by the conflict has given Corruption the power it desperately needed... to claim a new Avatar."

" **...Oh. Yeah, I can see where that might be a** **problem.** "

Honestly, Jaune knew he should be wetting his non-existent pants at the prospect of having to fight a _demigod_ in the future. Now, to be fair, he was still more than a little terrified, but he was also a little excited. All his life he had been told he didn't have what it took to be a legend. Now the chance to _save the world_ had just been handed to him by the very first of the whole Arc bloodline.

" _ **Hellooo,** still haven't answered my question! Where. Do. I. Fit. In. Here?"_

Ryder looked down at the annoyed avian.

"That's actually a good question. Technically, you're not supposed to be part of this."

" _... I don't follow."_

"Indeed." Crowfather answered. "Your mental link with the young Arc appears to have given you access to the Reaper's power, as well as the boy's own powerful intellect. However, the fact you possess such access is simply a matter of inexplicable circumstance."

Dusty straightened incredulously.

" _Wait, you mean I got the power to fight a whole pack of Grimm and freaking **teleport**... by **accident**?"_

"An accurate summary, yes."

Talk about anticlimactic...

 _Wait, 'fight Grimm'_?

Jaune turned around and finally laid eyes on the carnage that had occurred while he was out, the bodies already halfway dissolved. He spun back to the spirits and pointed at Dusty.

" **He did that?** "

" _Not all of them. You killed that one._ "

Jaune turned back and focused on the largest carcass, which he recognized as the one that had attacked him.

 **"Huh. Looks like I've got a death toll.** "

" _Mine's bigger. Yours was a fluke anyway."_

The two were interrupted before their banter could continue when Crowfather spoke again.

"Young Harbinger, we have one more task to ask of you. As powerful as you will grow to be, you cannot hope to stand against Corruption alone. The Four must return to Remnant in order to drive back the Grimm. You must find the other Harbingers."

Three more spirits appeared above the water around Crowfather and Ryder, two male amd one female. The spirit cloaked in red with a gigantic metal gauntlet stepped onto the shore in front of Jaune's floating form and unsheathed a massive from his back. Despite being almost as tall as its wielder, the handle was short, as if designed with one-handed combat in mind. All long the flat of the blade were etched visages of agony and sorrow. He presented the blade to Jaune and spoke in a low, groaning, and ominous voice.

"I am the Harbinger of War. This is Chaoseater, the blade that slayed the Destroyer. I ask you, Reaper, to deliver this blade to my Successor, that she may rise to aid you. My descendent wields the wrath of the sky."

" **Uh...yeah, I'll try my best...** "

As he took the blade from War and cradled it in his mismatched hands, the sword evaporated into orange energy. The red warrior stepped back and another spirit clad head to toe in thin metal armor and a purple scarf walked up to Jaune.

He held up two large pistols, each longer than his forearm. One was a bulky, four-barreled blaster with a cylinder rotary chamber. The other looked more like a traditional revolver, with etchings along the barrel. The spirit spoke with a voice of sarcastic wit.

"I am the Harbinger of Strife, and these here are the guns that killed the Horde Queen, Mercy and Redemption. I'd deliver these myself, but I'm currently suffering from a bad case of death at the moment, so you'll have to play errand boy. Just don't bet them in any sort of gamble, or you'll surely lose."

Strife winked at Jaune behind his mask.

" **Uh... okay...** "

Jaune hesitantly took the guns by the barrels, and they dissipated in to twin wisps of silver energy.

"On a more serious note, my bloodline is a little more complicated than the rest. Corruption managed to split the magic in two, so now I technically have two Successors running around. One already uses the power of Strife against the Horde, though she does not know it. The other struggles to retain his peace while running from his past."

Before Jaune could ask him to elaborate, Strife hopped back over the lake, and the woman took his place. She wore a light cuiress with light metal armor along her arms and legs. She pulled what looked like a small sword handle.

"I am the Harbinger of Famine, and this is the Chain of Starvation, the weapon that felled the Seven Lords of Sin. I ask that you pass this tool on to my Successor. She is reserved, starved of her very identity all her life."

...Well that didn't sound like a very stable state of mind, even for a demigod. Especially for a demigod. Nonetheless Jaune took the Chain, and it dissipated into wisps of solid red energy. Famine spoke up again.

Unfortunately, awakening my Successor may be more complicated than the rest. Corruption has manged to find her, and seal her connection to the power of Famine by way of the next candidate for the title of Destroyer . If you are to revive the Four and defeat Corruption, she must sever her connection to this Corrupted individual."

" **Oookay, that's... pretty ominous. Not sure how I'm gonna make it work, but hey, I like to think I'm good at improvising. I'll see what I can do**." he said resolutely.

Famine smiled in thanks and stepped back to stand among the other Harbingers. Crowfather spoke this time.

"It appears our time grows short. We must leave the defense and reclamation of the Balance in your hands."

As Famine, War, and Strife evaporated into pale green mist, Jaune suddenly noticed another mildly important detail.

 **"Wait, I still know so little about all of this. Who am I gonna go to for info, training? I mean, am l going to be stuck like this for** **the rest of my life?** "

He gestured to his ghostly skeletal form.

"Fear not, young Reaper. I will remain here, as will Ryder, should you have need of us on your quest."

... Huh. Well that was simple.

"And to answer your last question, no, the Reaper form is not your permanent form." Ryder told him. Jaune sighed in relief.

" **Good, I've been away from the village a long time now and I don't think Mom and Dad would recognize an 8-foot-tall ghost as their son..."**

"In fact, as young and inexperienced as you are, I'm surprised you've been able to hold the Reaper form for so long..."

" **What?** "

At that moment, Jaune's luck decided to give him one last, tiny middle finger. As soon as he finished speaking, the Reaper dissipated in a swirling burst of purple smoke, revealing Jaune in his normal, human body...

...and promptly dropped him unceremoniously on his face from the point in space that had once been occupied by the ghost's chest.

"...Ow."

Jaune heard Dusty laughing through the mental link.

"Impossible... Abyssal Armor? How did you acquire it so soon?!"

 _Abyssal Armor? what's he talking about? I don't remember wearing any armor when I left the hou..._

His train of thought trailed off when he saw his reflection in the water. Shocked, he quickly began to examine himself.

When he left the house on his walk, he had just thrown on a plain white shirt and gray cargo pants. It still didn't look like armor, but what he was wearing now was **_not_** what he walked out the door with.

He was wearing a double-zipper hooded leather jacket, with a raised collar, that ended just below his waistline. Underneath he wore a gray tight-fitting t-shirt with black decal patterns that appeared to mimic padding around his armpits, chest, abs, and sides.

His forearms were covered in black sleeves that ended before his elbow. The sleeves extended past his wrists to cover his hands halfway with a hole stitched in for his thumb, leaving the knuckles and fingers bare, . Jaune's hands underneath the sleeves were completely and securely wrapped with black cloth. his fingertips appeared to be replaced with pointed caps of metal that made him look like he had claws.

His waist was wrapped in a wide sash of purple cloth. Around the sash was a wide belt, or more of a loop of material. A circular clasp that had the face of a horse with a ring of eldritch runes around it etched into the metal, sat off-center on his left hip. Hanging from the clasp were several low-hanging belts looped around his abdomen.

He was wearing a pair of dark gray cargo pants underneath the sash and belts. He wore greaves similar to Ryder, only his lacked knee guards, and the cloth covers were black. The criss-crossing belts were purple instead of gray, and instead of heeled riding boots, he wore treaded gray running shoes.

Jaune looked back at his reflection and gasped. The hood of his jacket was raised, shadowing his face and bringing focus to his glowing eyes.

Instead of ocean blue, however, his irises now possessed a purple hue.

Jaune looked back at Ryder.

"You called this Abyssal Armor. What do you mean? Do you know what this is?"

Ryder nodded. "The Abyssal Armor is a Sort of secondary Harbinger transformation, besides their True Form. While the Armor doesn't provide as much of boost as your Reaper form, it will provide a substantial augmentation of all your combat-related attributes. It can also be Summoned or Banished in the same manner as the Reaper or your Harbinger weapon."

Suddenly green mist began to waft from the two ancient spirits. Crowfather sighed.

"It seems we have run out of time for now. We will have to continue this at a later date."

As the ancient beings began to disappear, Jaune panicked.

"Wait a minute! You can't just cut off like that! At least tell me how to Banish the Armor! I can't just go back home wearing clothes that I..."

Too late, the two ancients had already evaporated, leaving him alone with the bird.

"... Don't... own..."

Jaune's shoulders slumped. He briefly considered just stripping off his new outfit, but then his younger sisters wouldn't ever let him hear the end of it if he came back in his underwear. He remembered Ryder saying he could Banish the Armor, but he had no idea how. Deciding to try anyway, Jaune closed his eyes and imagined the Armor disappearing.

Purple smoke suddenly began to waft from the sleeves of the jacket. More mist began to flow from everywhere on his body. In just a couple seconds, the Armor had evaporated, leaving him in his cargo pants and t-shirt, which was now caked with blood where he got gnawed. He turned to Dusty.

"Say something."

" _What?"_

"Say something else. Anything to let me know that any of that was real."

" _Feels pretty real to me."_

Well, that settled it. Everything that just happened had actually happened. The only question left was...

... what was he going to do about it?

Both bird and boy tensed when the rustle of undergrowth broke the silence. Dusty turned and crouched, ready to attack. But when the new arrival stepped out into the open, it was no monster. It was a man.

The man wore a buttoned-up collared shirt and black slacks over heeled dress shoes. If the massive blade balanced on his shoulder was any indication, he was a Huntsman.

The Huntsman pulled out a metal flask, uncapped it, and took a big gulp.

"Damn, that Ursa was a real pain in the ass... seriously, who knew severing an arm would only make it angrier..."

Then he looked at Jaune, and his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing out here at this hour, kid? Don't you know it's not safe after dark?"

The Huntsman's eyes widened when he saw the bloodstain on Jaune's shirt. He ran up to him and knelt, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you're hurt! Whoa, that's a lot of blood, happened to ya, kid?"

"What do you mean, I feel--"

Exhaustion suddenly lanced through his body, driving him to his knees.

"Fine? Yeah, didn't think so. C'mon, let's get you somewhere safe."

Jaune only half-heard him, his mind getting foggier. He could just make out Dusty's squawk of alarm before the world once again went black.

~o~0~o~

Qrow Branwen wasn't really sure what to make of the boy. He was scrawny and unassuming, not necessarily an obvious fighter. He even looked a little like his niece, complete with blonde hair to match. Yet something seemed... different.

Now, Qrow wasn't a master of Aura Sense by any means, but even he could tell that something about the boy in his arms felt... off. Whatever it was, it felt ancient, powerful... primal.

 _Who is this kid?_

 **~o0o~**

( **A/N:** ) Whew, that took longer than I expected! Thanks to you guys who suggested longer chapters (you know who you are). It was a really bad time to get writer's block, that's for sure.

On the subject of chapter length. To preserve the rhythm of the story, I'm not sure if future chapters will be exactly as long as this one. That said, the minimum word count is now 4k-5k.

Next Time...

Five years have passed since Jaune and Dusty were given Legacy, a task to save the world from Corruption once again. Now, however, they face a new problem: they still have absolutely no idea where to start.

So when a cryptic clue to the whereabouts of the other potential Harbingers suddenly arrives, Jaune must leave his home in Mistral, and head to Vale to follow this mysterious lead.

And so the Reaper takes the first step towards his destiny...


	4. Departure

_Nobody is born a hero. One must become one, be molded into one, learn and uphold the virtues necessary to follow an unspoken code. Yet all great heroes share a common past. None were born knowing how to perform their deeds. They had to grow, experience... fail. What else can such a time be named, but humble beginnings..._

~o~0~o~

It was early morning in Mistral. The sun had barely appeared on the horizon, painting the sky with a soft yellow glow. The village was quiet, serene. Few residents were even awake at this hour... except for two.

 _CLANG!_

In the Arc family training field, the peaceful silence was broken by the collision of metal on metal. Two figures occupied the field, locked in combat.

Jaune Arc, age 17, backflipped away to gain distance, while his opponent did the same. Jaune settled into a wide stance, crossing his large twin sickles behind him in a reverse grip.

His adversary did the same, staring into Jaune's shocking purple eyes with pools of striking green from under his hood. Both were breathing heavily from exertion.

Jaune's foe finally lost patience and charged forward. Nimbly twirling his own pair of blades upright in hands, he swung downwards, the twin blades ready to tear the young Reaper to shreds.

In a burst of purple smoke, Jaune transformed into the Reaper, sending the the gigantic blade now in his hands across his opponent's chest with a vicious upswing, drawing blood. His adversary landed hard on his back and groaned, running a hand through his scraggly blonde hair.

"Uuugh... guess I lost again..."

Jaune changed back to his Abyssal form and dropped to the ground. He slumped tiredly and looked at his doppelganger.

" I'm... beat..." he panted. "How 'bout... a break..."

His body double got to his feet and smirked.

"Works for me... I'm sore..."

The doppelganger burst into ethereal green smoke, revealing a large crow where the double's chest used to be. The bird flapped over to the tree sitting at the edge of the field, coming to roost on a low branch. Jaune shuffled over and sat down with his back to the tree. He set his massive blades to either side. Looking up at his avian friend, Jaune smirked.

"Have to admit, Dusty, your new transformation is a real game-changer."

Dusty turned his beak upwards mockingly.

" _Yeah, I know, right?_ _I gotta_ _say, being your green-eyed twin is pretty fun_ _! I mean, who knew **I** had a transformation, too?_ _Now I can do anything I want, then just blame it on you!_ "

Jaune's eyebrow twitched.

"Touché..."

The pair settled into a comfortable silence. Jaune leaned his head against the tree and watched the clouds floating overhead.

"... It's weird, y'know? Just five years ago I couldn't even swing a sword straight, and now I'm secretly a demigod, destined to preserve all life..."

Jaune closeed his eyes, his mind drifting back to the memories of the last five years of his life...

~o~0~o~

 _After the night his destiny had been revealed to him by his ancestors, nothing abnormal happened for about a week... If a crow that can talk with his mind and teleport qualifies as normal._

 _Jaune's conversations with his avian friend helped him come to grips with the fact that he wasn't crazy._

 _On the seventh night, Crowfather and Ryder appeared his dreams. They warned him that, as he was, he could not hope to master his abilities and defeat the current Avatar of Chaos._

 _They also could not predict how the power would manifest due to his link with Dusty._

 _Over the next few weeks, the ancients visited him in dreamland, and taught him the techniques that Ryder had used during his time as the Reaper. Jaune then practiced his abilities during his waking hours._

 _Of course, he made sure to be as discreet as he could. Crowfather had made it clear that it would be unwise to broadcast his power to anyone's knowledge, lest he attract any agents of Corruption._

 _Dying before he completed his task would probably be bad for the Balance._

 _The first thing Jaune learned was summoning his Harbinger weapon, which Ryder had affectionately dubbed the Harvester._

 _The weapon took the form of a pair of massive wide sickles that had purple-black swirl patterns running through the center of each blade. On the back of each blade were two identical sets of upward-facing horns, with a space in between for the back edge of the blade to jut out. A flat skull was ingraved at the converging point for the horns._

 _The space between the twin plates was no accident. The blades of the sickles could flip like a hinge to become parallel to the handles. Jaune had ended up calling it Glaive form, since it looked like he was holding a pair of glaives._

 _By putting the pommels together, he could magically combine the the twin sickles into one large double-headed scythe. He could also shrink one of the baldes and switch it to Glaive, making it perfect for stabbing. He named this the Power form since it was slower than its twin blade form, but stronger._

 _The final feature of the weapon was Jaune's favorite. Harvester wasn't just one weapon. It was actually the shared name of two blades. One was the set of sickles he used normally... while the Reaper wielded the other._

 _The Reaper's Harvester was massive, slightly taller than his 8-foot frame. The flat of the blade was covered with skulls engraved on the metal. Instead of a point, the blade ended in two wicked prongs._

 _The Harvester could also be summoned separately from Jaune's Reaper form. This made the ancient weapon an excellent finisher._

 _In order to tell the two apart, Jaune decided to name his main weapons Abyss, since he mostly used them in conjunction with his Abyssal Armor form._

 _Ryder had taught him much about the Reaper form. Under his tutelage, Jaune learned to summon a ghostly specter of the Reaper to enhance the range and power of his attacks. Ryder also taught him to summon the arms of his Reaper form to perform tasks for him._

 _Unfortunately, this ended up being all that Ryder and Crowfather would teach him. After that they just... vanished. No warning, no saying goodbye. They were just... gone._

~o~0~o~

Jaune and Dusty were left to find out the rest of their powers by themselves, testing and experimenting with their potential and limitations. Not to say that Jaune was particularly upset at being hung out to dry. In fact, he was more frustrated at himself. He huffed, running a claw-tipped hand through his sweaty hair.

"Five years. _Five years_ , and I haven't been able to dig up anything at all! All this time, the least they could do is send a clue or something!" He slouched against the tree and sighed.

"... So did you find anything during your trip this time?"

After his parents had found out that he had been escorted back to the village by a Huntsman, covered in his own blood and sporting a grotesque set of ugly scars, his father had absolutely forbidden him from leaving the Arc household without someone to chaperone him.

On top of all that, word got around about his situation, and he was bullied even worse than before. Even though his older sisters tried to step in whenever possible, he couldn't help but feel they were babying him.

That did not stop Jaune, however, from sneaking out at night to go to Mistral proper, whenever he could. He had to admit, however, that being a vigilante wasn't as simple as he thought. In reality, it was pretty hectic. Just in this last year alone, he'd gotten roped into several shootouts, blown up a Dust storehouse, and damaged one of Mistral Academy's own massive supply elevators during a face-off with a local smuggler.

He even had a run-in with a chapter of the White Fang while patrolling one of the higher level airdocks. Apparently he had caught them in the middle of a raid on the Schnee freighters docked there.

... In his defense, he hadn't been **_trying_** to turn the airdock into a crash site, but at least they didn't get the Dust, right?

Unfortunately, while he tried to avoid injury as best he could, he rarely got away without at least a bruise or two. He'd played them off with a myriad of excuses, from accidents to run-ins with the bullies. The stories got a little more complicated around the more serious injuries, like sprains or broken bones ... or bullet grazes.

Lucky for him, that part was a little easier, as most of his minor injuries usually scarred over in less than half an hour. Heavier injuries normally took only a few hours, tops. By the next morning, all he had to do was **_maybe_** slap a couple band-aids on for show, and he could pass off any lingering pain as soreness or something along those lines. Nobody could tell him being a demigod wasn't cool.

Back to the fact he was under figurative house arrest, by order of his own father. The only silver lining? Dusty had no such restrictions. He could go anywhere in the world and nobody would bat an eye. C'mon, nobody really expects a bird to be so important, right?

Because of this fact, Dusty regularly left the village to scout out the world in search of the other Harbingers. Doing this for five years had taken him through all four kingdoms by now, from Vacuo to Menagerie. He had even come across, and swooped in to save, people from Grimm (or other people) when the occasion arose.

Dusty dipped his beak and shook his head. " ** _S_ _igh_**... _Nope, still haven't found squat. Kinda hard to find something if you only have some cryptic riddles telling you what to look for._ " He cocked his head sideways in thought. " _Let's see... I stopped a few Grimm, busted some heads in a Faunus trafficking operation in Mantle, broke up a White Fang heist in Vale... little things like that..."_

Jaune chuckled. "All in a day's work for the Light of Providence, huh?" After hearing about his tales of heroism, Jaune had taken to referring to Dusty by said nickname as a joke, since he left a contrail of green light when he used his powers.

Dusty straightened and ruffled his feathers. " _Yeah, well, it's not enough. You're right, it is frustrating to feel so helpless when you're supposed to be the savior of all life. We need backup._ "

Jaune got up from his seat under the tree with a groan. He stretched out with a sigh. The Abyssal Armor evaporated into purple smoke, leaving him in a grey t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans.

"Well, that's what the others are. Or at least they will be, once we find them..."

"Jaune, honey! Breakfast is ready!"

Jaune felt himself smile at his mother's voice. All his life, no matter what was said or done to contradict his heroic aspirations, Asia Arc had always encouraged him to keep dreaming. If angels existed, Asia would _definitely_ fit the bill... when she wasn't tearing through Grimm three times her size, that is.

His parents, his sisters, even his usual bullies. The _**whole world**_ was counting on him for survival.

"...And we will find them. We have to."

~o~0~o~

Jaune poked halfheartedly at his Pumpkin Pete's cereal while he listened to his relatives talk amongst themselves. They mostly spoke of the success of their latest jobs or whatnot, and he was already used to such music. Occasionally, however, Jaune would hear them speak of strange happenings they either saw or heard of. Things that would seem random or inexplicable to those who didn't know what he knew. The current topic in particular garnered his attention.

"... As I was saying, I was requested to guard some rich Vacuoan merchant and his son during their stay in Vale for a fundraiser a few weeks ago," said Rayden. He wiped his face with his napkin.

"C'mon, Dad, that's nothing to boast about," drawled Joan Arc, Jaune's twin sister (though she constantly boasted that she was older than him by eight minutes) as she sent a disapproving stare at her father. "Nothing ever happens on those kinds of missions, you said so yourself!"

Rayden adopted a serious yet thoughtful expression, steepling his fingers. "That's true," he said. "But this time something did happen, and it was the the strangest thing I'd seen in years. Believe me Joan, weird things have been happening in the past few years, but this is the first time I've heard of _this._ "

Slightly taken aback by her father's intensity, Joan nonetheless decided to press the the question. "Oookay then. So... you're gonna get to the point or not? I got to brush up on my shield techniques for initiation tomorrow."

"Right," Rayden nodded. "So, the merchant had a Faunus secretary. At the end of the fundraiser, the merchant gives a speech in the CCT tower courtyard, along with a councilman and the secretary. Thanking everyone for their support and all that jazz. Then, in the middle of the whole thing, this homeless man gets up onstage and pulls a knife." Joan leaned forward, eyes wide, while Jaune tensed.

"Oh, my that's horrible!" Asia emerged from the kitchen, set down her plate and took a seat. "I hope you stopped him, at least?"

Rayden nodded. "Oh, stopping him was no problem. What he did before that is what concerned me." he leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. "Okay, so, he pulls the knife, but he doesn't go for the merchant, or the councilman. No, he goes straight for the secretary, and ignores everyone else."

Jaune finally spoke up. "Do you think it was because she was a Faunus?" His father hunched back over the table. "Most likely, I guess. I wouldn't know," he said. "Never got the chance to ask. The perp yelled something like 'they're here' and just... died. Slumped over in my arms like a puppet with no strings." So engrossed were they in the story, the parents and the sister failed to notice when Jaune paled and froze solid, staring at his bowl.

 _'They're here'?_

"Hey dad?" Ana Arc, third oldest Arc sibling and resident 'emo kid', appeared at the entrance to the family room. "You might want to see this."

~o~0~o~

Ana led the Jaune and the others into the family room, where a newscast had been paused on the TV. The heading read 'Beacon Breached!'

As they entered, Ana casually vaulted the back of the couch, picked up the remote, and pressed the play button. The announcer unfroze and resumed speaking.

"-- _Our next story: Vale remains in state of shock after a man was found to have infiltrated the Beacon Academy campus several days ago, attempting to steal the roster of this year's first-year candidates. We're told new Beacon professor Katherine Peach was able to stop the thief, after a brief altercation. The professor will not be attending the initiation, in order to care for a mysterious injury sustained during the struggle._ " The reporter gestured to the holo-screen next to her. " _We now show you recently released footage of the suspect's interrogation._ "

The holo-screen lit up to show a typical interrogation room. Two men sat facing each other across the metal table. One was dressed in a wrinkled dress shirt and slacks. A badge sat on the table in front of him. The other wore a windbreaker over a ruffled t-shirt and jeans. His hands were cuffed to the table, bangs shadowing his eyes.

The cop stood up and slammed his hands on the table, . " _Alright, buddy,_ " he started. " _Here's how this is gonna go. You're gonna tell me who you were looking for on that list_." The prisoner let out a low chuckle. " _Why would I need the the whole list, if I already knew who I was looking for?_ " The cop grit his teeth. " _You think this is a joke?!_ "

The other man snorted " _Oh, it's absolutely hilarious._ " He leaned forward. " _You put your trust in the integrity of your walls. You build your weapons to defend yourselves. But they will not protect you from us forever._ "

Then the man looked directly at the camera, and his eyes became visible. " _The Four will fall before us. You cannot hide from us forever. Once we find you, you will know true despair. And then... we will end you."_

The convict began to chuckle, getting louder and louder until it turned into full-blown maniacal laughter. " _So flock to your 'beacon' if you think it will protect you. You are only delaying the inevitable."_

The holo-screen shut off and the camera re-centered on the reporter. " _The criminal was found dead in his cell later that day_. _Authorities have begun investigating to find any associates of the suspect, but so far no new information has been released. Meanwhile, rumors and conspiracy theories have surfaced about the mysterious 'Four' the suspect spoke of. Are they possessed of good intentions? Or do they have more sinister aspirations? Only time will tell. This is Lisa Lavender, reporting for VNN news._ "

Ana hit the mute button, then set the remote down. "Yeesh, that was unsettling. You think his friends decided to keep him quiet?" she suggested.

"Maybe he offed himself or something?" wondered Joan. The parents threw in their own suggestions, and a full conversation was started. Out of all four relatives, only one noticed Jaune leave.

~o~0~o~

Jaune slammed the door to his room, leaned against it, and slid to the floor. His heart beat a drumroll against his ribs as he struggled to control his breathing. Emotions spiraled around within his being, chief among which were excitement... and dread.

That man was no ordinary person. His eyes... there was no color in his eyes. The iris, the pupil... niether were there. They were just sightless pools of pitch black.

It was a _very_ long shot, but this was the first solid lead Jaune had recieved since he became a Harbinger. If he had this right, this could be the luckiest break he'd ever had in his life!

 ** _If_** (it was still a big if) he was guessing this correctly, one of the other Harbingers would be in Vale next week! And Jaune already knew the first place he should look. That place... was Beacon Academy.

How could he not think that? The clue itself was vague, but the evidence was pretty clear. Strange incidents began to happen to the Faunus population. Corruption had an intense distaste of the species, due to their natural resistance to its influence. Someone also tried to steal a list of the first-year applicants from the on-campus archives. That fact alone was damning enough. All of this pointed to the fact that the agents of Corruption were searching for someone in Vale...

... But that also meant that they were already _in_ Vale, and thus had a head start. Meanwhile he, being the _only_ active Harbinger he knew of, was stuck halfway across the world in a remote village, several miles from Mistral proper. If they found their quarry before he did... there was no way he could let that happen.

 _I can't stay here anymore. Anyone that Corruption is looking for directly is in danger... it's decided then! I need to get to Vale!_

 _Knock knock!_

Jaune was broken from his thoughts by a knock on the door, followed by intense whispering.

"Hey Jaune, open the door, will you? We need to talk..."

Confused, Jaune pushed himself off the door and opened it. Ana crept quickly into the room, closing the door behind her. She then turned to her brother and crossed her arms. "Okay, spill it," she ordered. "What do you know about that news story that spooked you so much?"

Jaune immediately tried to defend himself. "What are you talking about? I wasn't scared!" Ana shot him an unimpressed look. "You looked like a haunted mannequin with blonde hair before you bolted," she deadpanned. Jaune crossed his arms and pouted. "Why are you asking me that anyway?" he asked. Ana hesitated. Then she took a deep breath. _Here goes._ "I might know something about it too."

She expected Jaune to call her crazy or deny it. To try and redirect the conversation. So she was caught _way_ off guard when Jaune suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Tell me _everything_ you know."

Ana stepped back out of his reach. Needless to say, her brother's complete 180 in mood was starting to freak her out. "W-well, there was this dream I had the night of my birthday, four years ago," she started. "I'm standing in this limbo space, and then I'm approached by this woman with golden armor and a pair of massive wings. She called herself Uriel."

Jaune made a 'go on' gesture. "She said she was a member of the Hellguard, some ancient order that maintained and defended the domain of Nature. She told me I was chosen to... inherit her power and assist the Reaper in his quest to fight something called 'Corruption'... Whatever all that means."

Jaune stared at Ana as if she'd just slapped him. Then he sighed and looked down with a thoughtful expression. "Jaune? Hello? You're starting to creep me out..." Not knowing what else to do, she brought up her earlier accusation. " You _do_ know something, don't you?"

Jaune met her eyes, this time with a hesitant expression, then sighed again. "Okay... you obviously have some part in this, so there's no point in keeping you in the dark..."

So he told her everything. The night he became the Reaper. The secret origin of Faunus and humans. Every last detail.

When he was finished, Ana was at a loss for words. Jaune couldn't say he was honestly surprised. He guessed that this would have been a lot for her to process, what with her brother secretly being a demigod. And that another demigod was set to destroy the world if left unchecked. Nevertheless, Jaune decided to try and diffuse the tension, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Ana beat him to it.

"You said... you said something about a transformation, right?" she asked urgently. Jaune nodded hesitantly. "Yes, I have two... why?" Ana looked at the floor in thought, then looked back at Jaune. "Because that might explain how I can do _this_."

Ana walked to the center of the room, turned toward her brother, and spread her arms. A soft light began to emanate from behind her, growing and unfolding. As soon as it finished, the light faded, revealing a pair of full-length, translucent white wings. "So... what do you think... uh, Jaune?"

Said brother was gawking like a toddler who had just been shown a professional magic trick. Ana began to figit uncomfortably under his starry-eyed gaze. Thankfully, Jaune realized what he was doing. He looked away and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I guess I kinda lost it after seeing the wings. They just look so _cool_." Ana scoffed. "Stay on topic, will you?!"

"Right, serious conversation," he muttered. "Well, since you decided to reveal all this now, do you wanna come with?" Ana's wings drooped slightly as she cocked her head in confusion. "To... where exactly?"

"To Vale," her brother replied. He strode over to his closet and pulled out his treasured Pumpkin Pete's hoodie, which he won in a boxtop raffle three years ago. He also pulled out a pair of polyester cargo pants. "You saw that newscast, Corruption has a head start on us. If the bad guys manage to find the other Harbingers before _I_ do... well, then we're all royally screwed. I need to stop sitting on my butt and start looking ASAP."

"Wha--wait, soon as in, like, right _now_?!" Ana sputtered. Jaune pulled a travel backpack from the closet, then turned to her. "The sooner we leave, the better." Then he pushed her toward the door. Ana hurriedly banished her wings, the appendages dissolving into light particles just in time to avoid colliding with the door frame. "Better get ready," he said. "Grab some casual outfits for public settings."

"...Okay, how long are we planning to stay there, exactly?" inquired Ana. Her brother looked at her and tucked his lips between his teeth. "... Until we find a Harbinger, I guess."

Ana groaned. "So in other words, you don't know."

" So... yeah, anyway, unless you want to walk around Vale in nothing but that sports bra and your Achieve-Men sleep pants, I suggest you pack." And with that, Jaune shut the door. Ana looked down at the Achieve-Men logos patterned on her sleepwear. "...There's nothing wrong with appreciating good music..." she grumbled as she trudged off to start the shower.

~o~0~o~

Ana placed the wall-mounted spray nozzle back in place, then walked over to the large soaking tub and settled in. She sighed as she leaned her head back, letting the water soak what remained of the shampoo out of her shoulder-length blonde hair. Once that was finished, she got out and started towards the towel rack, but stopped short in front of the mirror. Intrigued, she strode over for a closer look.

At a glance, there wasn't anything new for her to see... at least, not since she acquired her powers. Ever since she met Uriel four years ago, Ana had enjoyed almost unnatural levels of agility and flexibility, along with an impressive boost of endurance. She also acquired unbelievable durability, allowing her shrug off a head-over-heels tumble down the stairs when she was 15, take a fastball to the cheek with just a grunt of surprise, and even fail to notice when a **_shard of glas_ _s_** lodged itself straight through her hand. Long story.

All while retaining the soft, charming features shared by all the Arc siblings. Add that to a ridiculous metabolism, and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't had to turn down a few dates.

As for the strength... well, let's just say the _metal_ armor for the training dummies became a lot more... _fragile_ , around her. However, she'd had _four years_ to get used to these abilities, so... yeah, nothing new there.

What interested her was almost hidden by her low-hanging bangs. Sweeping these to the side, Ana found a strange, slowly fading white symbol on her brow, identical to the one Uriel had possessed. _Odd_ , she thought as the mark faded completely. _I'm_ _positive that's never happened before today_. _What changed?_

"Hey!" _clack clack._ "You done yet? We need to leave before something stops us, and I want to at least take a shower before I go!" Ana smirked at her brother's impatience. She ruffled her bangs back to normal, falling diagonally across her face and shadowing her right eye from view. " Don't rush me, Jaune, I'm almost finished!" She grinned mischievously. "... Or are you that eager to see me naked?"

"... Oh, _ha ha_. Just speed it up, will you?" Ana laughed quietly at the embarrassment in her brother's voice.

~o~0~o~

"Okay, we'll only be gone for a couple hours, so just sit tight," said Rayden Arc. "I'm sorry you two can't come with us, but I promise you're not missing anything important!"

Haven Academy was hosting a special orientation to get the new students acquainted to the layout of the school. It was also held so they could select their first year electives before initiation the next day. However, only aspiring students and their guardians were allowed to attend.

"Relax, Dad," drawled Ana. "There's no point in going if we're not gonna stay there." Her father sighed. "You're right." Then he smirked and winked at her. "Don't throw any parties while we're away, eh?" Ana grinned back. "Still don't have any friends," she said sarcastically, mimicking his playful tone. Rayden cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well... best be off then..."

"See you guys!" called Joan as she brushed past them toward the car. "Next you see me, I'll be a Huntress!"

"Have fun! Don't get expelled before your first day!" called after his sister. Joan simply rolled her eyes before entering the vehicle. Jaune waved his hand high over his head as the car sped off, while Ana simply raised her arm lazily.

"So... when are we leaving?" asked Ana. "I mean, we can't exactly explain to them how important this is when they get back." Jaune turned and followed his sister back to the house.

"You're right. This is the perfect time to get away without having to go through anyone, and none of our younger siblings are even awake yet." he frowned. " _Still_ have no idea how they do that... but, it works in our favor. So, you got an outfit to wear?" Ana gestured to herself. "You're looking at it."

Ana was wearing a custom form-fitting, polyester, blue-and-grey top that cut off before her lower stomach, baring her hips. The collar of the top was raised almost to her chin. A zipper that ran down to her chestline was halfway open to allow her neck to breathe.

Over that was a custom black hooded jacket mad of faux leather and fleece, with yellow decals along the sleeves and back, most notably the large Arc family crest on the back. Each sleeve was made of fleece until it got past the elbow, where it turned back to faux leather. On each sleeve, a zipper ran halfway up the forearm, lining up with the backs of her hands. A set of sleek, hexagon shaped green-and-black headphones sat around her neck, with the Achieve-Men logo branded on each side.

A pair of custom, dark grey cargo pants were held up by a brown double belt that swooped over her left hip. A chain looped crookedly around her waist, drooping over her right hip.

The pants draped over a pair of tough-looking, shin-length treaded boots. A matching pair of fingerless sleeve-gloves could be seen underneath her jacket sleeves.

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise as he point numbly in her direction. "Is that...?" Ana nodded. "It is."

Back when Ana was 15, she started writing down ideas of what she had wanted her Huntress outfit to look like. She'd ramble to anyone who would listen (mostly Jaune) about everything, from the materials the oufit would be made of, to the colors, to extra built-in padding. Her parents finally decided to draw the line at _five_ hidden weapon holsters.

Jaune was at a loss for words. "Where did you get this?" Ana shrugged. "During my... late-night encounter with Uriel, she told me she would send a gift to me, as thanks for accepting her 'burden'. The night of my 15th birthday, some kind of chest just appeared in my room, sealed with some gilded padlock or something. A week later the lock opened and... well, you're looking at what was in there."

Jaune looked her up and down, then shrugged. "Works for me, I guess. I think you should take a few pieces of armor with you, though. I don't think a nice jacket will stop a bullet."

Ana nodded in agreement. "Trust me, this jacket can survive _much_ more than a bullet. Whoever made this oufit knew what they were doing."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her confidence. "What, did you test it yourself or something?" he joked. His smirk drooped a little as Ana shifted uncomfortably, looking away with a nervous grin. An awkward silence carried on for two more beats.

"Well... guess we just have to finish packing," said Jaune. Ana turned and padded toward the stairs. "Already finished, just need to grab our packs and get going." As his sister ascended the staircase, Jaune turned to stare at the fireplace. Or rather, the object sitting above the fireplace mantle.

Crocea Mors. The Arc family weapon. Used by Jaune's great-grandfather in the War of Colors, it was passed down from parent to child. At least, to the young Arcs who were worthy. Jaune looked upon the ancient weapon with a sad smile. His whole life, he had believed his destiny was to carry that sword into battle, like the Arcs that came before him. Now, he knew otherwise.

"You were right, Dad. I wasn't meant to be the next heir to that sword. My destiny is to be someone different. Something else."

~o~0~o~

" _So..._ " started Dusty, " _How long have you had wings?_ "

Jaune, Ana and Dusty were currently soaring over the landscape toward the coast of Anima. Jaune was in Reaper form, gliding along on his skeletal wings, while his sister coasted through the air beside him.

"Counting the first time? About four years." Ana replied. The three demigods descended below the treeline, weaving and dancing through the pillars of bark. "Uriel taught me how to Summon and Banish my wings, but according to her that's all I can do right now." Ana swooped under a low branch. "She said that aside from my physical enhancements--Whoa!--the rest of my powers are locked."

" **Same here.** " Jaune swooped upward and changed to his Abyssal Armor form, slotting himself between two close branches. He did an open backflip before leveling out and reverting to Reaper. " **Crowfather said something like that back when Dusty and I were still training under him.** " Dusty weaved around them, a green streak of light that danced through the web of wooden limbs. " _What do you think he meant by that_ _? You really think there's more to our powers than we already know?_ "

Neither of his companions answered him as they broke the treeline, the landscape changing from forest to country. A couple of rural roads wound towards a large town, beyond which peeked a horizon made of water. The trio came to rest in one of the tall trees near the commercial entrance, providing a good view of the coastal town. Dusty alighted on Jaune's shoulder and cawed. " _Lady and gentleman, welcome to Port Bay!_ "

Ana hopped off the branch and lande in a four-point crouch. Jaune let himself fall forward into a slow somersault, sticking a hard three-point landing. Dusty once again swooped down to perch on Jaune's and together they walked toward the main entrance.

"It smells like fish here," Ana commented, sniffing the air as they strolled through the gate. "I could really go for some seafood right now."

Dusty ruffled his feathers. " _Good call. Port Bay is actually pretty popular in the tourist community for its waterborne cuisine._ _I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little peckish myself._ "

"Tell you what," said Jaune, "Let's look around for a while, grab a bite to eat, do some sightseeing and all that." He regarded both of them seriously. "But we gotta make it quick, we're on a tight deadline here." Then he scratched his cheek sheepishly "We also need to buy a ferry ticket, because there's _no way_ I can hold Reaper form long enough to fly there." Ana just shrugged. "Okay then, why don't we do that first?"

 _BANG! BANG!_

A cacophony of gunshots sounded, followed by screams. All three of the demigods tensed, ready to fight. A plume of smoke became visible over the buildings, coming from further into the town.

"Guess that ferry ticket'll have to wait," Jaune said as the three companions rushed off toward the rising smoke.

 **~o0o~**

 **(A/N): Well... that certainly took longer than I expected. Who knew making up an outfit was so so hard?** **Anyway, I don't know if I have to address this or not, so I'll say it anyway just in case: For those Darksiders fans who already know, or if you just think the story's interesting, I'm trying my best to accurately describe the references I inject into the story. If you are a Darksiders fan like me, you most likely will know what I'm referring to, but as for the rest of you... well, I'll try my best.**

 ** _Next Time..._**Jaune, Dusty, and Ana finally make it to Vale, but run into trouble when they start looking for their target, as well as finding more questions. Meanwhile, Ana begins to exhibit a level of focus and skill that seems too practiced for someone who is supposed to be new to the whole "vigilante" business. To top it all off, an unexpected encounter leaves Jaune with a tempting offer. Still left with more questions than answers, Jaune continues to trek into unfamiliar territory... and an increasingly dangerous destiny...


End file.
